A small chuckle circulated the capacity crowd and then Djokovic said he would lead by example, turning to public announcer Ken Crosina and wrapping his arms around him. Fans laughed and followed suit.
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Djokovic said he found form at the right time in Toronto, taking the opening matches to get his rhythm back following his early exit in London. “I did feel that it was just the right moment for me to ask”. We are all here to connect through tennis, through passion for the sport.
That marked a brief shift in momentum, as Nishikori scored five straight points to take a 4-3 lead.
The Japanese player recorded his fourth straight Memphis title in February for his 11th ATP Tour victory, but he can not seem to solve the world’s top player and has now lost nine straight times to Djokovic.
“After Grand Slams, these are the biggest events we have in sport of tennis”, Djokovic told the media following the win.
“I’m going to try to extract that positivity out of that huge attention and energy that will be directed into the Olympic Games and hopefully put myself in a position to battle for a medal”.
After surrendering two championship points in the final game, Djokovic powered a serve to Nishikori’s forehand that hit the frame and flew up into the sky and out of the court.
“I really enjoy playing tennis and I was looking forward to competing again because I needed that break and that early loss at Wimbledon has allowed me to have an extra week where I can recuperate, spend time with the family and think about something else”. “I had to come up with accuracy in the first serve at least and I hit a very high percentage of first serves, especially in the first set”. Nishikori and Djokovic enter their first ever final meeting with Novak Djokovic beating Kei Nishikori in their last eight matches. Nishikori won his fourth straight Memphis title in February for his 11th ATP Tour victory.
Doubles experts Murray and Soares eliminate the Canadian hopefuls in Toronto by outlasting them in a three-set 6-4, 6 (5)-7 (7), 10-7 victory in their one hour and thirty-seven minute semifinal match.
Novak Djokovic simply could not be stopped on Sunday as the world No. 1 powered through to his fourth Rogers Cup title.
“I don’t need to explain that every athlete dreams of being a part of the Olympic Games”, he said.
After winning the Rogers Cup 2016 against Japan’s Kei Nishikori, Novak Djokovic strikes back and targets Andy Murray’s predicted second gold medal. But Djokovic’s serve proved to be the difference. The match might have only been in doubt for half a set when Nishikori broke Djokovic’s serve and pushed the second set to 5-5.
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Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, salutes the spectators while holding the trophy after his win over Kei Nishikori, of Japan, in the final of the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, Sunday, July 31, 2016, in Toronto.
